St Joseph's Church, North Ward facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Joseph's Church, North Ward |
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| St Joseph on The Strand | |
St Josephs Church, 2006
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| 19°15′12″S 146°49′03″E / 19.2532°S 146.8175°E | |
| Country | Australia |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | January 1919 |
| Founder(s) | Bishop of Rockhampton Joseph Shiel |
| Dedication | Saint Joseph |
| Consecrated | 10 July 1921 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) |
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| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1920 - 1921 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Reinforced concrete; corrugated iron |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Townsville |
St Joseph's Church is a beautiful old Roman Catholic church located on Fryer Street in North Ward, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by architects Charles Dalton Lynch and Walter Hunt. Joseph Rooney built the church between 1920 and 1921. It is also known as St Joseph on The Strand. The church was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 26 November 1999, which means it's an important historical building.
Contents
History of St Joseph's Church
Early Days of the Church in Townsville
The area where Townsville is now, called Cleveland Bay back then, became a new settlement in 1864. It was part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brisbane. The first priest in this northern area was Father William McGinty. He started a church community in Bowen.
Father McGinty first visited Townsville in 1866. He performed baptisms and held Mass in the Court and Customs House on Melton Hill. In 1872, the Townsville church community officially began with Father Connolly as its first priest.
The First St Joseph's Church
The very first church in Townsville was St Joseph's, opened by Father Connolly in 1872. This timber building was located on The Strand, near where the current church stands. Sadly, this first church was destroyed in 1892. Heavy floods swept the building out to sea during a huge storm.
Hopes for a New Diocese
In 1878, the Bishop of Queensland, James Quinn, suggested creating three new church areas, called dioceses. One of these was planned for Townsville. However, in 1882, only one new diocese was created, with its center in Rockhampton. Townsville had to wait another 52 years for its own diocese.
Even with this delay, Catholics in Townsville kept working hard. They wanted to establish a Townsville Diocese. They built many Catholic schools, churches, and other important places. This included the Sacred Heart Cathedral, which was meant to be the main church for the future Townsville diocese.
Building the Current Church
Because so much effort went into expanding the Catholic Church across North Queensland, plans for a new St Joseph's Church didn't start until 1918. The new building was designed by the Townsville architectural firm of CD Lynch and Walter Hunt.
The foundation stone for the new church was laid in January 1919 by Bishop Joseph Shiel of Rockhampton. Joseph Rooney, from the famous North Queensland building company Rooneys Ltd, built the church. The new St Joseph's Church officially opened on Sunday, 10 July 1921. Bishop Shiel and Archbishop James Duhig of Brisbane were both there for the opening.
Special Altar and Community Life
The new church faced Fryer Street, close to where the first church had stood. The altar inside the church has a special story. Parish priest Monsignor Bourke designed it. Joseph Rooney crafted it in memory of Matthew Rooney, his wife, and daughter. They all tragically lost their lives when the ship Yongala sank off Cape Cleveland in 1911.
Since the first church was built in 1872, St Joseph's Church has been a very important place for the Catholic community in Townsville. Many key church organizations have been located nearby. These include the parish house (presbytery), a Catholic orphanage, St Joseph's Primary School (started in 1875), and St Patrick's Secondary Day/Boarding School (started in 1905).
Small additions were made to the church in the 1950s. These made the rooms on either side of the altar larger. In the 1980s, some changes were made to the inside layout. A raised platform with a modern altar was added. This was done to follow new recommendations from the Second Vatican Council. Some pews and most statues were removed, but the special Rooney Commemorative Altar remained.
What St Joseph's Church Looks Like
St Joseph's Church is built from strong reinforced concrete. It has a corrugated iron gable roof over the main part (the nave) and lower skillion roofs over the side areas (aisles). The church stands on flat ground, facing Fryer Street.
Outside Features
The front of the church, facing Fryer Street, looks balanced and grand. It has a main entrance with a pointed arch and timber doors. On either side of this entrance are tall, pointed niches. Above the main entrance is a large window with five pointed sections, topped by two four-leaf shapes and a central eight-section shape. A small crucifix window is above this, and a crucifix sits at the very top of the roof's peak.
Strong pillars, called buttresses, stand on either side of the central part of the church. The lower side aisles each have a pointed arch entrance with timber doors and a crucifix window above. Concrete steps lead up to the church from Fryer Street. A marble foundation stone is next to the main entrance.
The sides of the church look similar. Each side has a row of pointed arches, forming an arcade. These arches are separated by flat pillars that extend above the roofline, making it look like a castle wall. Each arcade has a concrete floor, and a small room (vestry) is at the back. The windows in the side aisles are made of three tall, pointed leadlight sections with lower opening parts. These are set within a pointed arch. Timber doors open from the side aisle to the arcade. The vestries stick out from the arcade, with six narrow pointed windows and a timber door at the back. The upper windows of the main church area have paired leadlight windows set in a pointed arch. On one side, there's a concrete ramp with a metal handrail to access the arcade.
The back of the building is simpler. It has buttresses separating two leadlight windows, each with tall paired sections on either side of the main altar. A round leadlight window with a central four-leaf shape is at the top of the gable. You can see where original doors used to be by the pointed arch shapes at the back of the side aisles.
Inside the Church
Inside, above the entrance, there's a timber gallery. You can reach it by a corner timber staircase with decorative turned balusters. The side aisles are separated from the main nave by concrete columns topped with pointed arches. The floor is concrete. The main roof of the nave has a special scissor braced King-post design with curved side supports and diagonal timber lining.
The church has a very detailed carved timber altar at the back, on a raised platform. It has many levels of pointed arch niches holding statues and is topped with a crucifix. The back wall has timber panels up to the height of the column tops. One of the side aisles has another carved timber altar and a timber altar rail. A plaque remembering Monsignor Bourke is on the wall of this side aisle. The church also has timber pews (benches) and decorative Stations of the Cross (pictures showing Jesus's journey).
The fence along Fryer Street has concrete pillars with pointed arch shapes and metal panels.
Why St Joseph's Church is Important
St Joseph's Church was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 26 November 1999. This means it's recognized as a very important historical place for several reasons:
- It shows how Queensland's history developed. St Joseph's Church, built in 1920–21, shows how the Catholic Church grew and became established in North Queensland.
- It's a great example of its type. The church is a good example of a Roman basilica style building. It's also beautiful to look at and adds a lot to the look of Fryer Street.
- It has special beauty. The inside of the church is particularly fine. It has a beautifully made altar, a unique scissor truss roof, a choir gallery, and lovely leadlight windows. The church was built using reinforced concrete, which was an early example of this material being used to rebuild churches in North Queensland after cyclones.
- It's important to the community. St Joseph's Church has a strong connection with the Townsville parish. This was the first Catholic parish started in North Queensland after people settled there. It has been a central place for Catholic worship and community life since the 1920s.
- It's connected to important people. The church is an important example of the work done by the Townsville architectural firm of CD Lynch and Walter Hunt. It also shows the skill of the North Queensland building company Rooney Ltd. The altar has a special connection to Joseph Rooney. He crafted it in memory of Matthew Rooney, his wife, and daughter, who died when the ship Yongala sank in 1911.
